A month ago, major British publishing house Gollancz reached their 50th year as a beacon of excellence in Science Fiction & Fantasy literature. To celebrate this momentous occasion, Gollancz has put together a fascinating contest. Here’s the official post:

This year Gollancz celebrates 50 years of bringing you the very best in Science Fiction and Fantasy, from classic novels through to modern-day bestsellers.

We've chosen 50 titles published under the Gollancz imprint over the past 50 years. Now we want you to tell us your favourites! Simply visit this website http://www.gollancz50.com/ and select one science fiction title and one fantasy title to cast your vote.

We'll announce the winners in September and then publish the Top Five Science Fiction and Top Five Fantasy titles in a fantastic collectable retro-look edition to celebrate!"

Included below is the complete list of 25 Science Fiction and Fantasy books which are up for vote. From these two lists, five books will be chosen from each category and will be re-published in a special retro-style collector edition with a certifiable yellow/golden Gollancz 50th Anniversary tag. The voting period ends on May 15, 2011 at Midnight GMT. Five winners will be selected randomly and will receive a subscription to SFX Magazine. The winners will also receive a copy of all of the reissued Top 10 books! These editions will certainly be flying off the shelves so have a look at the titles below and vote for your favorite SF and Fantasy book HERE.

With so many great titles in either category, it will be hard to predict which ten SF & F titles are selected. The final list will be announced in September. As for me (Mihir), I have voted for “The Lies of Locke Lamora” and “Yellow Blue Tibia” in their respective categories.

In addition to the contest, a number of articles on the topic of “CELEBRATING 50 YEARS OF GOLLANCZ” have been posted on the Gollancz blog. They are as follows: